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Roof in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
السقف في المنام
In Islam, a roof seen in a dream stands first for a man of high rank. The Ibn Sirin collection says that the roof is an eminent man, and that a wooden roof is a deceitful man. A roof that is about to fall announces fear coming from a powerful man. Being on an unknown rooftop announces a rise in standing, and falling from it a disappointment.
السقف رجل رفيعIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The roof is an eminent man.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 87
This sentence opens the short passage of the collection on the roof, in the chapter on the earth, houses and their parts. The collection deals separately with the roof or ceiling (saqf), which covers the room, and the flat rooftop (sath), which people climb onto. Speaking of the house, it also says that its rooftop stands for the name and the high standing of its owner.
The meaning according to what you saw
Here are the cases the collection describes, first for the roof that covers the house, then for the rooftop on which one stands.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You see a roof, made of wood or not | The roof is an eminent man. If it is made of wood, he is a deceitful man.vol. 2, p. 87 |
| The roof is about to fall on you | Fear reaches you from an eminent man. If earth falls from the roof and touches your clothes, you obtain money after this fear.vol. 2, p. 87 |
| A beam of the roof breaks | The death of the master of the house, or a misfortune that strikes him.vol. 2, p. 87 |
| The house or the roof collapses on you | If your house falls on you with dust, it is measles. The roof falling on you can also be a misfortune.vol. 2, p. 125 |
| The sky falls on you or on your family | The roof of your house falls on you, because Allah called the sky a protected ceiling. If you are ill, you die, unless you come out from under it in the dream.vol. 2, pp. 13 and 14 |
| You are on an unknown rooftop | You gain a rise in standing, and you seek help from a man of great renown.vol. 2, p. 83 |
| You climb onto a roof | Every climb up a slope, a hill or a rooftop is the obtaining of what one seeks. Climbing straight up is toil without good.vol. 2, p. 67 |
| You fall from a roof | You lose the hope you had placed in a man, or you lose your rank because of something you say. If you fall into mud, you give up a matter of religion or of this world.vol. 2, p. 333 |
| You come down from a roof with a rope | You are scrupulous in all your affairs, to the point of giving up your requests out of piety.vol. 2, p. 333 |
| Water comes onto your roof | A trial reaches you from the sultan.vol. 2, p. 170 |
| A room without a roof, where the sun or the moon comes in | A woman gets married in this house.vol. 2, p. 85 |
| You see stars under a roof | According to some, it is a bad sign: the ruin of the dreamer’s house and the death of the master of the house. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 39 |
Before you interpret your dream
Not every dream carries a meaning. The Prophet ﷺ described three kinds: a good dream, which is glad tidings from Allah; a distressing dream, which comes from Satan; and what a person tells himself during the day (Sahih Muslim, no. 2263). Only the first is read with a collection like Ibn Sirin’s. See the three kinds of dreams, and if your dream frightened you, what to do after a bad dream.
Frequently asked questions
What does a roof collapsing mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection says that a house falling on the dreamer with dust is measles, and that the roof falling on him can be a misfortune. A roof that is only about to fall announces fear coming from an eminent man (vol. 2, pp. 87 and 125).
Is being on a roof in a dream good?
Yes. Standing on an unknown rooftop announces a rise in standing and seeking help from a man of great renown. Climbing onto a roof is the obtaining of what one seeks (vol. 2, pp. 67 and 83).
What does a leaking roof mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection does not describe water leaking through the roof. The closest case is water coming onto the dreamer’s rooftop: a trial coming from the sultan (vol. 2, p. 170). No more precise meaning should be attributed to Ibn Sirin.
What does a house without a roof mean in a dream?
The collection speaks of a room without a roof in which the sun or the moon rises: a woman gets married in this house (vol. 2, p. 85). It gives no other meaning to a house without a roof.
Is falling from a roof in a dream a bad sign?
It is unfavourable. The dreamer loses the hope he had placed in a man, or he loses his rank because of something he says. Someone who comes down from the roof with a rope, on the other hand, is a scrupulous and pious man (vol. 2, p. 333).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin: chapter 39, vol. 2, pp. 67, 83, 85, 87 and 125; chapter 38, vol. 2, pp. 13, 14 and 39; chapter 41, vol. 2, p. 170; chapter 58, vol. 2, p. 333 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.